Mullica Hill landscaper helps out military family from East Greenwich

View full sizeBrian Gill, owner of Gill Landscaping stands with Tracy Brown outside of her Mickletown home to talk about the landscaping he has donated to Brown while her husband is away serving in the Navy. Staff photo by Calista Condo

EAST GREENWICH TWP. — With her husband away Tracy Brown really didn’t want her grass to die this summer, so she asked a neighbor about the company that handled the fertilizer on her lawn.

But when Brian Gill, the owner of Gill’s Landscaping in Mullica Hill, heard about the young mother and her lawn, he decided to do a lot more than just spread fertilizer.

Brown’s husband, Chief Matthew Brown, is serving off the coast of Somalia with the United States Navy. He hasn’t been home for more than a few days since September.

In order for Brown to care for the large yard herself, which is now trimmed with trees bearing yellow ribbons, she has had to hire a baby-sitter to take care of her three children, Ashley, 5, Haley, 4, and Connor, 3.

“First, I told her I’d be happy to take care of the chemical package for free until her husband returned,” Gill said. “But the more I got to thinking about it, I thought ‘If your husband is away, who is doing the rest of the work in your lawn?’ ”

Gill has offered to not only fertilize the lawn for the rest of the season, but also to send his crew to mow, edge and mulch the property.

And since word has gotten out, his suppliers are asking what they can do to help as well.

Brown was overwhelmed when she read Gill’s emailed message, as it was something that came completely unexpected. She said that she’s perfectly capable of mowing the grass and planting the garden, but she worries about her children while she’s out working in the yard with loud equipment running — which is why she has been hiring a baby-sitter. But, with three children, a full-time teaching job, a position on the East Greenwich School Board and extra curricular activities, the lawn was just one more thing to deal with in her husband’s absence.

“I was shocked; I literally had tears in my eyes,” she said, when she read Gill’s email with his offer.

For Gill, taking care of Brown’s lawn is just one small thing he and his company — which has been in Gloucester County for more than 20 years — can do for a family serving our country.

“The kids are demanding an enormous amount of her time. When I heard she’s got to pay a baby-sitter — which is ridiculous — I thought, ‘What happened to the old days when people helped each other out?’ ” he said. “A lot of people kind of forgot about the guys over there.”

Gill is modest about his donated service, although he and his company have been known to offer free services for others in the area, from elderly customers to military families.

For Brown, however, the assistance is something “above and beyond” what she ever thought anyone would give.